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clouds, the air hazy with more clouds, yet he had no trouble breathing. It was like something out
of a dream.  I thank You, Divine One, for allowing me to come here.
 And why wouldn t I? You have been a great servant to Me for the last seven hundred years.
 Thank You, sir. Liam bowed his head, then he glanced around. Something didn t feel right;
his senses were tingling.
The Divine arched an eyebrow at him.  Is there a problem, Sir Liam?
It came to him in a flash what was wrong, why it didn t feel right.  Where is Leeza? he
asked.  She should be here.
 Ahh, Felicia Zanna Hunter, The Divine said.  There is an interesting twist on events. He
made a motion with His hand and revealed an opening in the clouds. At first it was a loose focus,
like being in a plane and looking down at a city. Then the image telescoped and he was at the
Templar compound.
Leeza was dressed, running her hands through her hair as she stared out a window.
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Tabor appeared at her door.  The results are here. He shook his head.  Never seen
anything like it.
Leeza s eyes welled in tears.  Then it s true? I m fine?
Tabor nodded.  It s a bloody miracle . Y ou re fine.
Liam s gut about dropped out of him. How could this be? She was& she was near death.
How could she be alive now? A pain unlike anything he d ever known surged through him, so
hard, so clear, it almost knocked him down.  She was dying. I don t understand.
The Divine looked back at him.  She drank your blood. At the moment you gave your life
in sacrifice for her.
Liam shook his head.  But my blood couldn t have cured her. It was one of the first things
the Templars did, allowing turning humans to bite them instead of others, if only to see if there
were any healing qualities in the blood.
There never were. It might have been able to heal their own personal wounds, but not another
human s. It didn t work that way.
The Divine must have heard his thoughts.  It was more than your blood, Liam. It was your
heart.
Tears ran down his face. This wasn t what he wanted. It wasn t what he thought would
happen. She was supposed to be here. With him. Forever. His gut knotted.  Will she& will she
be all right?
The Divine shrugged.  It is her choice. If she wants to be, she will be.
There was the nagging feeling in his gut again.  I love her. And he did, with every part of
himself he was madly and truly in love with Felicia Zanna Hunter. He would have married her on
the spot, the first time she kissed him, if there had been a way it could happen.
He d let himself die, in essence committed suicide, so he could be with her&
And she wasn t here.
His stomach roiled like he d been kicked.
The Divine put His hand on Liam s shoulder.  I know, Sir Liam. And she loved you. But
there are rules to being a Templar. You knew that.
He nodded.
 And now you must pay for your choices.
Liam really didn t like the sound of that.
* * * *
 And I don t care what your secret society rules are. I m going, Leeza snapped back at
Grand Master William.
William stared at her.  We are not a secret society.
166 Broken Shine
 Oh please, Leeza fired back.  I know a lot about the Templars, before your turning and
after. You ve hidden yourselves away from the world for all of your existence. I don t care what
you think, I m going to Liam s funeral. I loved him. The words came out of her in a rush, yet she
knew in that instant, they were true.  I don t care what you say.
William stood up to his full height, arms crossed over his chest, his long beard dusting his
arms.  And how do you plan on defying me?
She didn t back down.  If you think you can keep me away from his funeral, I dare you to
stop me. I deserve to be there. I was with him in his last moments.
 You are the reason he s dead, came a voice from the doorway.
Leeza groaned. It was Adrian, Liam s partner. The last two days had been Hell on earth,
between the Templars wanting to make sure, about a dozen times, that she really wasn t a vampire,
and arguing about where the funeral would be held.
And Adrian.
She was very careful not to be alone with him she still felt like he d plunge his sword into
her without a second thought if given the opportunity.
William had held fast to the decision that Liam was to be put to rest in Poitiers, France,
where another Templar lay.
And every time she was about to make any kind of headway, possibly get William to
reconsider letting her come, out would pop Adrian, a constant reminder that her actions had killed
Liam.
 Don t start, Leeza said, her gut roiling. She didn t need this complication. Not in light of
Liam being dead.
Did she believe that she was a murderer? Not in the least. But did she understand that she
was responsible for Liam s death? Absolutely. She d cried more tears for him than she d ever cried
for anyone in her life. Her eyes were probably permanently swollen from the tears.
If she could take back the moment, she would.
A life with him in it, even if it were a platonic relationship, was better than this.
Liam was gone&
More tears came.
She didn t bother wiping them away. What was the point? They d only be replaced by more. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]